It could be a while before it’s warm enough for tents and trailers, but here at Red River College, camp season is already in full swing.

In the coming weeks and months, we’ll host a number of specialized camps and workshops designed specifically for younger students interested in exploring the following areas:

Electronic/Electrical Engineering Technology

First up are the Saturday Kids Kamps offered by RRC’s Electronic and Electrical Engineering Technology programs. From now until April 4, students in Grades 7 and 8 can take part in day-long sessions that introduce them to basic concepts and theory, while also giving them the chance to put their new knowledge into practice through fun activities and assignments.

In the Electronic Technology camps (9 a.m.-noon at the Roblin Centre), kids learn about basic electrical concepts such as voltage, current and resistance; work with lab instruments like digital multimeters and oscilloscopes; and study pitch, volume and timbre by observing sounds created by guitars and amplifiers.

In the Electrical Engineering Technology camps (1-4 p.m. at Notre Dame Campus), kids are introduced to robotics and robotic programming via the Lego NXT-G system. After learning about sensors and actuator functions, they’ll work in groups to program solutions to increasingly difficult problems, before building their own robots using a selection of available materials.

Both camps are free of charge; click here for more information or to register. Read More →

An advertising student from Red River College’s Creative Communications program will showcase extraordinary stories about ordinary lives, when he launches a new book about Manitobans with Down syndrome this weekend.

Second-year student Jordan Power has spent the least year compiling stories of work, love and accomplishment into a series of eight profiles called Extra-Ordinary: Stories of Manitobans with Down Syndrome.

“They’re [stories] about getting fired and making friends. They’re about winning and losing and swimming and skiing. They’re about laughing and loving and looking forward to sex,” says Power, who’ll complete CreComm and receive a BA in Communications from the University of Winnipeg this spring.

“Everyone has a story to tell. You just have to ask.”

Among those profiled is Ruth Elizabeth Joseph, a student in RRC’s Academic and Career Essential Skills program, which launched last year with funding from the College’s Transforming Futures campaign.

Power will read passages from the book this Saturday at a launch and discussion from 7-8 p.m. at McNally Robinson. Proceeds from the new book, which Power wrote as part of his year-long Independent Professional Project (IPP), will be donated to the Manitoba Down Syndrome Society.

Click here to learn more about Extra-ordinary, and here for more on RRC’s Creative Communications program.

Red River College will soon begin providing hope and educational opportunities to student refugees in Winnipeg, thanks to a new humanitarian aid initiative launched in partnership with World University Services of Canada (WUSC).

The College’s newly announced Student Refugee Program will allow the RRC community to support one passionate and dedicated student per year, as they arrive in Canada as permanent residents to pursue post-secondary education.

Each year in Canada, similar Student Refugee Programs allow more than 55 student refugees to enter the country and begin their studies.

The program’s success is ensured by WUSC, whose members facilitate the overseas selection of the student refugees, place them at Canadian universities and colleges, and provide training and guidance to local WUSC committees. Each refugee is sponsored by a campus-based Local committee, whose members raise any necessary funds ahead of time, and provide students with at least 12 months of financial, social and academic support.

“In addition to the compelling nature of the program on humanitarian grounds alone, the Student Refugee Program is an extremely valuable way of promoting peace and social justice, facilitating learning and understanding, and establishing on-campus opportunities for all staff and students to become involved through volunteerism,” says Lauren Konrad, Student Integration Coordinator with RRC’s Diversity and Intercultural Services office.

The College’s first student refugee will arrive in Canada in August 2015. The student will be enrolled in RRC’s Applied Accounting program, and will live on-campus at the College’s student residence downtown. Read More →

Congratulations to the most recent recipients of Red River College’s Lieutenant-Governor’s Medals for Proficiency, awarded as part of our 2015 Winter Convocation ceremonies on Feb. 9 and 10.

Each year, a maximum of four Lt-.Gov.’s Medals are awarded to RRC students who best combine good character, academic and technical achievement, and involvement in College and/or community activities. This year’s winners are:

DIEGO FERNANDO MENDOZA, Chemical and Biosciences Technology

A May 2014 graduate of the College’s Chemical and Biosciences Technology program, Diego Mendoza was born in El Salvador, and moved with his family to Canada in 1993, following years of civil unrest.

He graduated with an International Baccalaureate diploma from Miles MacDonnell Collegiate in 2003, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Sciences degree with a major in Microbiology from the University of Manitoba.

After working in quality assurance for a local food company, he enrolled at RRC, where he hoped to gain further experience in analytical and laboratory work. As part of his program’s co-op education component, he landed his current job as a laboratory technician with the City of Winnipeg’s Water and Waste Department, where he monitors local industries to ensure proper waste treatment processes and environmental protections are in place. Read More →

A Red River College student is encouraging Winnipeggers to go for a walk next weekend —to help fund a rainwater-harvesting project at a school in Tanzania.

Bronwyn Fenn, a second-year Creative Communications student at RRC, is the leading force behind the Winnipeg for Water 6K, a walk and fun-run taking place Sun., Feb. 15, at 1 p.m. at the North Kildonan Community Centre.

“I chose six kilometres because that’s the average distance women and children who live in areas with low access to water [have to] walk every day,” says Fenn, a Kildonan East Collegiate alum who first began raising funds for drought-stricken communities while in high school.

“All money raised is being combined with funds from Kildonan-East Collegiate, and will help build a rainwater harvesting project at Kiwasi Primary School in the Bunda district of Tanzania. The school is about four kilometres from a water source, which is shared with animals — so it’s not safe to drink.”

It’s Fenn’s hope that at least 100 participants will sign up for the walk, and that the event will raise enough money to build the same sort of rainwater harvesting system as the one provided to schools she visited in 2010, while fundraising on behalf of Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR). Read More →

They like her — they really like her!

Former journalist Joanne Kelly needn’t worry about her Q-rating having slipped since she traded her on-camera gig for the classroom a few years back.

The Red River College instructor was recently named “Favourite Prof” in the 2015 edition of The Uniter 30, an annual issue of the University of Winnipeg’s student newspaper determined entirely by reader votes.

Kelly — who actually beat a pair of UWinnipeg profs for the survey’s top spot — has a reputation for encouraging students to work outside of their comfort zones, one she first earned while serving as a frequent industry mentor at Shaw TV, and later cemented after joining RRC’s Creative Communications staff in 2011.

Kelly spent 15 years — at Shaw, CTV Winnipeg, and BCTV — showcasing everyday people and their stories, an approach she continues to adopt with first-year journalism students and those taking second-year broadcast and live TV courses.

Most notably, she’s been able to transform one of her passion projects at Shaw — a live telethon benefitting the Winnipeg Humane Society — into a successful enterprise for CreComm students, who now host, produce, script and shoot the entire event. (Last year, the telethon raised $72,000 and was named Best Remote – Special by the Broadcast Educators Association of Canada.)

In addition, the Live at Five broadcast led by Kelly and her teaching partner Forde Oliver has twice been named Best Student Broadcast by the BEAC, once in 2013 and again 2014.

A Red River College student has organized Winnipeg’s first-ever city-wide bake sale — bringing together 15 local schools to support educational efforts for young women in Kenya.

Proceeds from this Friday’s sale will go The Wasichana Fund, a local non-profit that provides sanitary napkins and health education to more than 500 young women in Nairobi, where on average, female students miss 20 per cent of their studies because they lack a safe and dignified means of managing menstruation.

In December, ambassadors from each of the local schools met at The Wasichana Workshop, a discussion organized by second-year Creative Communications student Alexandra Martin (shown above).

The workshop focused on barriers facing young women in developing countries and the economical, social and political importance of female education. After taking part, the local ambassadors returned to their own schools to spread the message, with this week’s bake sale serving as the final campaign push.

“It’s been rewarding to see these like-minded young women come together and practice skills they will use to be future leaders in our community,” Martin says. “The goal is for them to realize the significant impact they can have when working together.”

Since its inception, The Wasichana Fund has provided more than 50,000 sanitary pads and restored more than 256,000 hours of class time to young women in Kenya. A donation of just one dollar will provide a month’s supply of sanitary napkins for one student.

Click here to donate or for more information on The Wasichana Fund.

(Photo credit: Eva Wasney, Creative Communications)

An eye-opening new video project inspired by a pair of Red River College researchers is giving child and youth care professionals valuable insight into the experiences of at-risk children and teens.

Live My Life: See what it’s like is a raw, honest and thought-provoking documentary short focusing on the perspectives of four Manitoba youth who’ve lived the out-of-home group care experience.

The video places the voices of these youth at the core of the care experience, offering a unique look at what they value in caregivers, and their perspectives on best practices. It also challenges viewers to rethink current child welfare strategies, and to incorporate similar voices more readily into practice.

The project was inspired by the experiences and research of Dawne MacKay-Chiddenton and Diane Parris, both faculty members in RRC’s Child and Youth Care (CYC) program. As Mackay-Chiddenton explains, she and Parris have long understood the importance of listening to what youth in care have to say, but felt there was little opportunity for such voices to be heard in the existing child welfare system.

To help rectify the situation, they partnered with Just TV, a local organization that works with at-risk youth through the West Broadway Community Centre.

Based on data collected in focus groups and individual interviews, the partners produced the Live My Life video, giving those profiled a chance to comment on the skills, qualities and attributes that make child and youth care professionals effective.

Their stories — which involve heartbreaking accounts of broken homes, separated siblings, and unqualified foster parents — speak to a broader youth experience that’s often omitted from child welfare programming and delivery methods, say the pair. Read More →

Students from Red River College’s School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts served up a pre-holiday feast to guests at Siloam Mission today, preparing hundreds of turkey dinners donated by the Manitoba Turkey Producers and Granny’s Poultry Cooperative Ltd.

Under the guidance of Culinary Arts instructors Chef Scott Ball and Chef Gordon Bailey, students cooked and served approximately 18 turkeys (more than 400 pounds worth), along with traditional vegetable side dishes, sauces, gravy and dessert.

The students prepared the meals for approximately 600 Siloam guests, then served them alongside a host of local dignitaries, including Kevin Chief, Minister of Jobs and Economy, Mayor Brian Bowman (above, far right) and David Rew, Interim RRC President (above, second from right)

“The holiday season can be particularly hard on those in our community experiencing homelessness and poverty. They do not have the resources to enjoy a Christmas feast,” says Floyd Perras, Executive Director of Siloam Mission. “We are grateful to have these students share their skills and passion. Red River College, the Manitoba Turkey Producers, and Grannies are bridging the gap to build a stronger, more compassionate community here in Winnipeg’s inner city.” Read More →

Winnipeg’s rich photographic history is now more accessible than ever, thanks to collaboration between the city and students from Red River College’s Business Information Technology (BIT) program.

Winnipeg in FOCUS is a new web-based application that allows users to search and view photographs and other graphic materials held by the City of Winnipeg Archives. The web app is the product of a partnership between RRC, the city’s Archives, and the city’s Corporate IT department.

In January 2014, RRC students in the BIT Industry Project course began developing an app to improve access to the Archive’s collection of photos. Functional requirements were provided by the Archives; technical mentorship and design services were provided by Corporate IT.

Materials held by the Archives capture moments in the city’s development. Many were taken by civic employees in the course of their work documenting projects or program delivery, though the collection also includes individual photos and collections donated to the Archives.

“[They] have much to show us about ourselves, our government, and the history of the natural and built environment from 1974,” reads the city’s website. “These images are a powerful record of change and growth.”

Currently, Winnipeg in FOCUS includes only a fraction of the thousands of images in the Archive’s holdings, though content will be added as resources allow.

Click here to learn more about the initiative, or to search the database.

Above photo courtesy of the City of Winnipeg Archives: Winnipeg looking west from the tower of City Hall, September 5, 1900. Present site of Red River College’s Princess Street campus.